Fuel duty cut to relieve pressure on UK’s burdened logistics sector, says Logistics UK

Wednesday 23 March 2022

The government’s decision to cut fuel duty in today’s Spring Statement (23 March 2022) will help logistics businesses to afford to keep supplying the nation with the goods it needs in the face of increasing fuel prices and other inflationary pressures, as Elizabeth de Jong, Director of Policy at Logistics UK, comments:

“With average fuel prices reaching the highest level on record and rising inflation, there has been an unstainable burden on logistics businesses which operate on very narrow margins of around 1%; the Chancellor’s decision today will help to ensure operators can continue to afford supplying the nation with all the goods it needs, including food, medicine and other essential items. Fuel is the single biggest expense incurred by logistics operators, accounting for a third of the annual operating cost of an HGV. The cut in fuel duty of 5ppl will result in an average saving of £2,356 per year per 44-tonne truck; this move will help to strengthen the UK’s supply chain during a time of ongoing financial and operational challenges.”

Logistics UK wrote to Rishi Sunak MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 10 March 2022 urging for a cut in fuel duty.

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.